Having received clarity on the confidentiality clause from the special investigation team (SIT) on black money, India has finally signed the crucial multilateral agreement aimed at facilitating access to financial information on taxpayers abroad.

New Delhi on Wednesday joined the multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (CAA) on automatic exchange of financial account information in Paris along with countries including Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand.

“Necessary rules and guidelines are being formulated in consultation with financial institutions. When fully implemented it would enable India to receive information from almost every country in the world including offshore financial centres and would be the key to prevent international tax evasion and avoidance,” an official statement said.